Thursday, July 16, 2009

Colorful Eastern Dragon

This colorful dragon image comes from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Shannon Archuleta, who works out of San Francisco, California, and is licensed by Creative Commons.

The dragon, whether Eastern or Western style, is one of the most popular of all tattoo images and for good reason. They typically represent fire, air and, above all, strength. The dragon above is one of the Eastern style which usually have no wings but still fly through the air by magical means. We can also tell this is an Eastern dragon because of its long, lithe, sinewy body that curves and bends much like a snake. In the Asian traditions dragons are benevolent creatures often serving as good luck symbols and much used in art throughout history. This is in direct contrast to the European type of dragon which is usually a beast of evil, destruction and fear. In China the dragon is also associated with the weather and is a bringer of rain.